Chapter 38
Because of the earlier attempt on his life, Kim Yul had built up quite a grudge against Duke Vertus.
Of course, how could Kim Yul, an outsider and mere commoner, possibly fight and beat Duke Vertus, who could even knock birds out of the sky?
But.
Kim Yul knew very well how to grab the people in power by the hair and make them eat dirt.
This was also due to his bloodline.
He had not only been born with a round, rebellious-looking face.
A nation of insane court historians who, even when the king himself said, “Do not record this in the official annals,” still wrote it down and made sure it survived to future generations.
A people who, whenever they were pissed off, would file memorials without backing down, united in the belief that even if their heads were cut off, they had to point out the facts.
Kim Yul came from that nation of blunt-talking people who wrote, “Your servant has not eaten crab paste since the Gapjin year,” only to actually lose their head.
Thus.
The day that issue was released, containing the serialized installment where Cao Cao tossed aside Dian Wei, Cao Ang, and Cao Anmin and made a break for it.
[Scandal Report: The Duke’s Seedy Private Life, Fully Exposed!]
[Written by: Asteric]
[Duke B had been infamous for his womanizing even before the Empire was founded. There were even testimonies saying his illegitimate children already numbered more than twenty, so the greatness of his lower half was enough to be called power on a national scale. …… But that greatness was not wielded merely to satisfy ordinary women, but at times to steal someone else’s wife……]
Truth Daily also ran a blunt exposé written by a no-holds-barred man.
A piece that clearly had no subject, yet unmistakably took the form of a targeted attack.
Of course, if it were a normal newspaper, they should have put a stop to this insane stunt, but.
“That sounds fun! Push it through at once, desuwa!”
Unfortunately, the young elven lady of House Wispelaud who was supposed to act as Kim Yul’s brakes had already been half out of her mind to begin with.
And politically, too, they were rivals, so she happily went after Duke Vertus.
Of course, at first History, the self-proclaimed greatest intellect in this savage world, expressed some concern.
“Kim Yul, aren’t you worried about the backlash?”
“The side that sent assassins first despite having done nothing wrong is the problem, isn’t it?”
“That is true, but, um, I’m still a little worried.”
“Still, we’ve got the elves. And besides, you can’t spend your whole life walking on eggshells.”
“That’s reasonable. Well, Kim Yul’s plan has its own logic. To think you’d come up with using a skill like that—it was a little unlike you, Kim Yul.”
“What’s unlike me?”
“A handsome man oozing a sneaky, vile grin?”
“……This tin can?”
Naturally, Kim Yul was indeed a crazy bastard, but he wasn’t the type to charge in blindly just because he was angry.
So he coaxed Chloe, who had become an accomplice, into putting safety measures in place.
First, an escort knight Chloe had dragged in by the ear.
Of course, there could be some restrictions on his freedom of movement, but simply having someone there to protect him was enough to give him peace of mind.
Another: a laboratory guaranteed to be absolutely safe.
If his manuscripts were also delivered through the escort knight, then as long as food did not literally run out, in theory he could seclude himself in the laboratory for the rest of his life.
Of course, Kim Yul had no intention of living like that at all.
Finally.
“Seriously, seriously, are you sure? You can’t just say you’re hurt and take a hiatus? If you do, I’ll really kidnap you to my lair and lock you up!”
“Um…… I think it’ll be fine. If my hypothesis was right.”
“Yah!”
“Aagh!”
Esthea used her tail whip!
The effect was tremendous!
“A-are you okay?!”
“Ugh…….”
Since he couldn’t keep solving crises by throwing Esthea at them forever, Kim Yul also didn’t neglect training himself.
He might also get sucked into a rift again, out of nowhere.
Or the enraged duke might send assassins.
Kim Yul’s conclusion was simple.
Similar things could happen any number of times from now on.
So I’ll get stronger and stand above everyone else.
The competitive spirit that had stirred in his chest when he’d been loitering around the Hero Academy right after being possessed was still writhing inside him.
* * *
That competitive spirit of Kim Yul’s.
“Oh my, author~~~?”
“Gasp.”
It was shattered to pieces before the saint who had personally visited his home to protest his twisted love.
She was also an awkward target to use the Esthea summon ticket on.
Since she was the sort of saint who would grab Kim Yul by the collar but not strangle him to death, even the guard knight had no way to intervene.
Instead.
“Wow…….”
The guard knight was casting envious looks at Kim Yul, who was in a headlock with Roselyn, their chests and cheeks pressed together.
.
.
.
After passing through that fleeting moment between heaven and hell.
Sitting at the open-air cafeteria in the West Plaza, Kim Yul spent some time convincing Roselyn of the purpose behind his writing.
“In the end, literature must serve as a mirror reflecting the world. Of course, I fully understand that adultery is immoral, but even so, sometimes we can’t simply turn away from the dark reality.”
“Hmph.”
Roselyn pouted, but.
The blessing of Hermes, which hammered straight into her eardrums and brain, took control of her thoughts and further strengthened the persuasiveness of Kim Yul’s words.
And then came the unbeatable logic!
“And, strictly speaking, this isn’t adultery. Ms. Choo was a widow to begin with. If Ms. Choo had truly refused him, Cao Cao wouldn’t have crossed the line either.”
“Oh, really?”
Roselyn’s misunderstanding melted away in an instant, and a generous smile took its place.
Seeing that, Kim Yul let out a breath of relief and tried to perform tai chi with his tongue.
“And, to be honest, I almost died—can’t I at least get a little payback like this? Instead of grabbing my collar, shouldn’t you be protesting Duke Vertus’s filthy private life?”
At Kim Yul’s sharp jab.
Roselyn just smiled.
“If he were in the Holy Kingdom, I’d already have blown him up. But, um, causing a war over me would be a little much, right? After all, I’m a saint.”
She flipped a coin into the air, then made it into a marble with nothing but the strength of her grip.
Kim Yul averted his eyes slightly.
Sadly, the only nearby person he could still beat in a straight fight was that pathetic elf.
In the meantime.
“You’re Ulysses, aren’t you?”
The voice of an unfamiliar man cut off the flow of conversation.
The moment Kim Yul frowned and turned his head.
Smack!
A glove slapped his cheek and dropped to the floor.
A duel.
* * *
The third son of Duke Vertus.
Regios had ambition.
From childhood, he had grown up watching his father’s back, and he had etched deep admiration for his father’s many great achievements into his heart.
And.
Compared to his brothers, who moved back and forth between high society and politics, he was convinced that the fact he had honed his martial skills since childhood made him far better suited to be the heir.
Though things had been peaceful so far.
The Empire would fall into a long period of chaos in the future.
And the one who could overcome that chaos would be not a sharp pen, but a well-honed blade.
If he proved himself capable, he would surely be able to rise to a position where, like his father, he could rule over the entire Empire.
With those thoughts, he was able to rise to a fairly high position in the capital guard while still young.
The captain of the capital guard’s tacit approval of the previous 'Night of Daggers' plan also owed a great deal to his influence.
And now, he was.
“You, you damn lowborn bastard, those crazy knife-eared bitches!”
He was tearing Truth Daily to shreds, the paper that had printed insults aimed at his respected father.
What fault was it if a hero who had made great contributions to founding a nation had casually taken a few women?
In fact, married women were practically a stamp of approval, proof that someone else had already chosen them, so what was wrong with that?
The son who had copied his father’s way of thinking to a tee.
He was bristling, his head crammed full of thoughts that would have gotten his skull cracked open on the spot if the saint could read them.
It felt as though he himself had been insulted.
In truth, Regios had recently spent a steamy night with a baroness, so it hit him even harder.
Huff, huff…….
But anger doesn’t solve anything.
So he took a deep breath and composed himself.
This was not something their family, House Estrias, could handle on its own.
Issue a rebuttal?
That would be even more suicidal.
The public isn’t interested in whether gossip is true or false; they just need something easy to chew on.
So rather than rebutting it and fanning the flames, which would only spread the story to even more people who weren’t reading Truth Daily,
it was better to keep quiet.
That was what he was trying to convince himself of.
“There’s no way I can just let this insult slide.”
His pride could not tolerate this situation.
In the first place, he knew this Ulysses character very well.
There was a reason for that.
His father inviting someone all the way to the mansion was no ordinary thing, and that someone had turned out to be nothing but commoner riffraff.
What's more, he had even met him once at the mansion.
“This is why you can’t show mercy to petty commoners. They just keep getting uppity.”
Grinding his teeth,
he donned his light armor.
It was time to teach that reckless hooligan who didn’t know how scary the world was a lesson.
.
.
.
A short while later.
Raging as he stormed through the streets, Regios was soon able to find that commoner writer called Ulysses.
From the start, he had a face you couldn't forget after just one glance.
Black hair, black eyes, and slightly tousled hair.
A standout face that hovered somewhere between handsome and sly.
And the monstrous saint was with him, too.
No matter how he thought about it, those two bastards had to be in cahoots, screwing over House Estrias.
Regios strode straight up to them.
And.
“A duel. If you’re not just all talk, then accept it as you should. Otherwise, tuck your tail and run like a cowardly dog.”
In accordance with the noble custom handed down since long ago.
He took off his glove and threw it in his face.
* * *
Though he wore a thoroughly flustered expression on the outside.
Kim Yul was desperately holding back his laughter on the inside.
At just the right moment.
The biggest catch he could reel in had taken the bait.